Page 109 - The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts

of the Caribbean waves, but it is not as much a reminder of
Dominica as it is a reminder of love.

A gift is something you can hold in your hand and say,
“Look, he was thinking of me,” or, “She remembered me.”
You must be thinking of someone to give him a gift. The gift
itself is a symbol of that thought. It doesn’t matter whether it
costs money. What is important is that you thought of him.
And it is not the thought implanted only in the mind that
counts, but the thought expressed in actually securing the
gift and giving it as the expression of love.
Mothers remember the days their children bring a
flower from the yard as a gift. They feel loved, even if it was
a flower they didn’t want picked. From early years, children
are inclined to give gifts to their parents, which may be
another indication that gift giving is fundamental to love.
Gifts are visual symbols of love. Most wedding
ceremonies include the giving and receiving of rings. The
person performing the ceremony says, “These rings are
outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual bond
that unites your two hearts in love that has no end.” That is
not meaningless rhetoric. It is verbalizing a significant truth
—symbols have emotional value. Perhaps that is even
more graphically displayed near the end of a disintegrating
marriage when the husband or wife stops wearing the
wedding ring. It is a visual sign that the marriage is in